The February meeting was held at Impalloy’s new manufacturing facility in the West Midlands, with Impalloy also sponsoring the food for the event, and Prafull Sharma of CorrosionRADAR, gave a very interesting talk on the monitoring of Corrosion Under Insulation (CUI), Latest Developments and Trends.

Prafull provided with an enlightening presentation into the trends of monitoring CUI and oil and gas inspections in general. Hidden corrosion such as CUI continues to be a big challenge for the asset integrity management of industrial facilities. Industry still spends a huge amount of their maintenance budget on routinely opening up the insulation to inspect the pipes and equipment. There is a growing trend to remotely monitor corrosion in accessible locations using the wireless connectivity and battery powered devices. A new innovative sensor system for monitoring CUI has been developed by CorrosionRADAR. The sensing principle uses Electromagnetic Guided Radar (EMGR), which uses a permanently embedded sensor into the insulation. The data is transmitted wirelessly onto a cloud or on-premises platform and visualization is performed using a remotely accessible dashboard.

The presentation also detailed the latest developments in remote monitoring technology for Corrosion and CUI.

The company have produced a very comprehensive monitoring database utilising 3D models of the plant requiring monitoring. Discussions followed about modification of the system to cover many other aspects of the corrosion dictionary, which Prafull said would be possible! Watch this space!

Following the presentation, a branch meeting was held, with Paul Segers taking on the chair. Detailed discussions followed about future events, membership etc. The branch is looking for new committee members from outside of the CP discipline, in coatings, research, monitoring, etc. If you would like to be involved please contact Paul via via the ICorr office.

Following a very successful half day event and AGM in 2019, the branch plans to start 2020 with a meeting at the end of Feb (date and venue to be confirmed), with Prafull Sharma from corrosion radar presenting ‘Corrosion Under Insulation online monitoring with Electro-Magnetic Guided Radar (EMGR)’. CUI is a big issue for the corrosion industry therefore any innovative monitoring system will be very beneficial in the goal to mitigate corrosion. It is therefore likely to be a well-attended meeting.

The Institute of Corrosion continues to follow the official UK government guidelines on how to mitigate the spread of coronavirus (COVID-19).

Our major priority is the safety and welfare of our members, officers and staff. With that in mind and in line with government guidance, all Institute meetings and events are cancelled until further notice, with the exception of those that can be held online.

Our main office at Corrosion House is open, with appropriate social distancing and safety measures in place for our staff. Members are asked to bear in mind that only essential visitors (e.g. maintenance, support) are permitted and no physical meetings can be hosted until further notice.

The branch held a half-day networking event for sustaining members at the Severn Valley preserved steam railway on 26 September.

It was a well-attended event by members from all ICorr disciplines, with all members expressing thanks to ICorr for sponsoring the event in return for being a sustaining member. All members thought the day severed them well in terms of networking with other corrosion professionals. Following a 30min train ride on a steam train, lunch was severed within the Severn Valley museum, ICorr members then enjoyed the offerings at the museum followed by a train ride back to Kidderminster.

The feeling of the day was that ICorr should be organising more events like this up and down the UK as it is a real member benefit.

The preparations are well advanced for the AGM on the 31st Oct 2019 at Birmingham, which promises to be an interesting event. Prior to this, the branch meeting has presentations from four world leading corrosion professionals, including Dr Markus Büchler who is presenting on CP criteria. Other presentations include:

Trevor Osborne, ICorr: 50 years of Offshore Corrosion Control Experience

Just to remind readers, on Thursday 26th Sept, the branch will be hosting a half day networking event for sustaining members, with a steam train ride, tour of the railway engine house and buffet lunch, at the Severn Valley Steam railway. The cost of attending for sustaining members is covered by the branch, please contact Bill Whittaker, bwhittaker@cathodicengineering.co.uk, to reserve your place ASAP.
The 2019 Institute AGM will again be held in Birmingham. The date is 31st October and this is earlier than normal to avoid clashing with the London branch Xmas Luncheon. A large event is planned with many interesting and technical papers being presented prior to the AGM. Full event details will be sent to all members via email, however please add this date to your diary.